


For life

by rawwrrr (ladyYellow)



Series: Dec Prompts 2018 [1]
Category: EXO (Band), Z.Tao (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - MAMA (EXO Music Video), Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Domestic, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Platonic Relationships, Slice of Life, Superpowers, wild life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-09-02 00:03:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 12,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16775617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyYellow/pseuds/rawwrrr
Summary: They used to complain is always the exact same routine everyday. The exact same flavor of tea without sugar, the exact same way Baekhyun turns on the lights, the exact same song every night. At the end, they come to treasure the calm the routine brings them.It soothed them the first day they have to hunt their food. It calmed them when they started to pick things from abandoned houses.





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> So... Here's the thing.  
> (Once again) I'm in this writing challenge, from December prompts. The same list of prompts, same fandom, but different categories (one purely **Gen** and the other **Romantic** ).  
> This is the Gen one.
> 
> **Please, do note that I won't talk about any romantic feelings here, more like brotherly love (?). You can read it as them, though.**

_The world has ended, for us it may be apocalypse._

_But for the universe who thrived for peace such a long time, nothing can be more perfect than this._

_This time may be life have a new form..._

_This time may be there will be new hope of eternal world full of love, kindness and togetherness._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can picture this as their shelter. Feel free to ask for any detail you want to know.


	2. Something sweet

Zitao and Sehun wrap themselves in their scarves as they watch Chanyeol, helping Kyungsoo with the fire for the stove (a really rustic and old one). It is really boring, when Kyungsoo hands him a wooden stick and Chanyeol ignites it with minimum effort, barely moving his index finger.

“Be of some use and help Chanyeol with this, Sehun” Sehun barely flicks his wrist, sending a soft breeze, so the fire grows inside the oven.

“Why aren’t you doing anything yet, Tao?” Zitao opens his eyes widely.

“It’s cold” he mumbles, Kyungsoo frowns.

“You wouldn’t be cold if you actually helped us. Come on, that strawberries won’t peel themselves” it is a little bit pathetic, Zitao thinks. The bowl over the counter barely has twenty four strawberries, the ones that Kyungsoo could actually save so they can eat them.

“They aren’t enough-” Sehun stares at Zitao, thinking he’s right, but he won’t say it aloud. Chanyeol smiles sadly as he pushes another ignited stick under the stove.

“Be thankful we have strawberries at all, do you know how hard was to grow them here?” Zitao nods, quietly.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry-”

“Better be careful with them, or I'll take whatever you mess up with from you portion” Zitao whines, peeling the strawberries carefully. He remembers those times when he could eat all the strawberries he wanted from the basket his mom had in the kitchen, but now he stares at them as if they were their most prized possession (perhaps they are).

The stove (and the room) is finally heated enough.

“Kyungsoo-yah, can I go with Baekhyun now? You don’t need me anymore here, right?” Kyungsoo shakes his head and dismisses Chanyeol. Sehun and Zitao stay to help Kyungsoo mixing the flour with milk and eggs to make some dough. The sugar is precious, so using it is a privilege nowadays.

They cut the strawberries in halfs before placing them over the dough, getting it ready for baking.

“Are you sure Chanyeol-hyung isn’t suspecting anything about this?”

“He may be suspecting it, Hun-ah. But it’s ok. The strawberries weren’t ready when it was his birthday, it’s a late present” Kyungsoo places the austere pie in the oven. “Let’s give this time to cook. Go and help the others with the blankets, I’m going to harvest some vegetables, alright?” Sehun and Zitao only nod.


	3. All the sparkles

There’s nothing to do. Baekhyun has already turned on some lights for the night and everyone is relaxing after a long day of chores.

“It’s a pretty night, don’t you think so, Baek?” Baekhyun looks at Junmyeon, before he hums agreeing. “It is a shame there’s nothing to do in these quiet nights-”

“There’s something, hyung” Sehun adds “Jongdae and Baekhyun-hyung can make some pretty things in the sky...” Baekhyun frowns and Jongdae, at the mention of his name, peeks his head from the kitchen (where he is helping Kyungsoo and Chanyeol cooking). He presses a finger against his lip, telling Sehun to stop talking.

“Hun-ah. How would you know that?” Junmyeon asks him with a growl, and Sehun lowers his gaze. Sehun always loved watching the northern lights and the storms before everything happened. His older brother used to take him to the forest to watch the electric storms from time to time. “It’s a waste of energy for us to use our powers to entertain the others-”

“Sorry, hyung” Sehun looks at Jongdae, blankly. Jongdae smiles sadly at Sehun.

“Hyung, don’t be like that with them~” Baekhyun defends him “Right now, I’m not doing anything and I’m not tired at all. Let the kids have something to watch, hyung. It is pretty boring being here doing nothing but chores...” Junmyeon opens his mouth to protest. The rest of the boys in the living room watch the arguing with interest (there’s nothing to do, anyway) “I know what you’re going to say. Chores are important-”

“Chores keep us alive” recite Jongin and Zitao, Junmyeon frowns.

“We get it, hyung” Baekhyun stands up from the old couch he’s sitting at, to kneel in front of Junmyeon “I promise it won’t exhaust me to make a display for you. We can watch it when the dinner is ready-”

“Like our own television?” this time is Yixing who aks, intrigued. Baekhyun nods. All the noise in the house now is coming from the kitchen (Jongdae whining, Chanyeol laughing and Kyungsoo growling). “I wouldn’t mind having dinner outside~ Are you sure this won’t waste your energy, Baek?” Baekhyun shakes his head, smiling.

“I used to do that for my brother before-” everyone remains quiet. Baekhyun looks at Sehun, like he knows something. “It’s nothing gege, really”

“But it’s cold outside-”

“Ah, Myeon-” this time is Yifan who intervenes. “We have jackets. One night outside won’t kill us, it isn’t snowing yet. There’s really nothing to do right now-”

At the end, they manage to convince Junmyeon to make a fireplace outside, so they can keep themselves warm.

Baekhyun lifts his hand at the sky when everyone has their own plate of fried rice with green vegetables, and moves his fingers slowly. There are green and pink sparkles coming from his fingers.

When Baekhyun starts to eat, the northern lights are still dancing in the sky. That’s when he hears Yifan complaining that it's a shame he can’t paint them, because they haven't found some paint supplies.


	4. Stockings

“Do you remember all that Christmas traditions, gege?” Zitao asks Han, distracting him from knitting stockings. Han looks at Zitao once before humming and start to knit again. The wool isn’t the most beautiful color in the world, an awful shade of yellow that reminds Tao of rotten mustard, but is warm. “Mom used to gift us Christmas stockings so we could wear them during the season-” Han frowns, stopping all the needles (advantages of telekinesis are that you can mimic with your mind what you do with your hands as much times as you need).

“I can’t knit any christmas details in this stuff, Tao...”

“I know, I wouldn’t ask you to. It’s just-”

“I see” Han leaves the needles over the table to go to the closet where they store the wool they have found and he starts to look for something, murmuring an ‘aha!’ after some minutes. Zitao is watching him curious when Han shows him a small ball of red with silver stamen. “This isn’t big enough for a pair, Tao” the younger looks sad, nodding “But we can make a small one and hang it near the chimney. You know, for Christmas spirit?”

Zitao hugs Han tightly, giggling excited “Can you do that, gege? Isn’t that like an American tradition or something?” Han shrugs his shoulders.

“I don’t think it matters anymore, Taozi” Zitao leaves Han with his knitting. There’s nothing the elder could help the others with right now, all busy trying to hunt their dinner.

“I hope you finish that stocking before Junmyeon comes and see you doing something for ornamental purposes-” Han turns around to look at Yifan, who gives him a serious expression.

“He can’t be that much of a grinch, right? Anyway, it had been a long time since the last time we celebrated anything…”

“I can ask Kyungsoo if he can grow a Christmas tree on the backyard-” Han smiles softly.

“You’ll make the youngers so happy...” _Not only the youngers,_ Yifan thinks.


	5. Handmade

Yifan watches how Kyungsoo and Minseok work in their own little project, silently.

A pine is placed near the outdoor staircase that leads to their water deposit. It was an absolute pain in the ass to convince Junmyeon to have a ‘Christmas tree’ for them to celebrate these Holidays, but Yifan thinks they deserve something to match with the season.

The tree isn’t a flashy one, because of Junmyeon’s paranoids  _ (‘what if someone comes and tries to steal us our shelter, Yifan?’ ‘Come on Myeonie, in all our time here we haven’t been able to find any single trace of another human in two hundred kilometers round’). _ It is a nice shade of green, that matches with the old wood on the outside of their ‘house’. Yifan surely is proud of what Kyungsoo can do with these things.

As Kyungsoo gives the final touches to the leaves, Minseok covers them with beautiful snowflakes he models with his fingers.

It’s a breathtaking process. Minseok grabs a drop of water from one of the buckets to create ice figures, most of them in the shape of mesmerizing snowflakes, but he also makes stars, angels and snowmans. He then places the figure in one of the branches of the tree to start the process all over again.

“Do you think we should make the tree a little bit taller, gege?” Yifan stares at the tree, which is barely a few centimeters taller than Kyungsoo and Minseok.

“Aren’t these things like... taller? I think it should be at least about my height-” Kyungsoo frowns, but he places his hands over the ground again,  _ ordering _ the tree to grow a little bit more. Minseok continues with his task, unperturbed. “Perfect, perfect” Kyungsoo looks at his creation and smiles.

“After this season is done, we can always pick some pine seeds from the tree. I’ve been sticking to grow bushes, but now we started with our pine, why don’t I try to grow some other frutal trees over there?” Yifan nods absentmindedly, not looking at where Kyungsoo is pointing. “Thanks, gege. I should go and look for Chanyeol now, we need to start with the lunch for when the others come back” Yifan and Minseok stay outside, as Minseok gives the final touches to the tree, asking Yifan to place the last figures at the top of the tree.

“I think I’m done” Yifan takes a step back to admire the work. “Something’s missing, don’t you think FanFan?” the very top of the tree is naked. Yifan nods.

“Shouldn’t we place a star there?” Minseok nods.

“You’re right” this time, Minseok grabs a little bit more than a drop of water to model a five point star “But I can’t reach-” Yifan takes the star in his hands, before he flies around half a meter from the ground, to place it on the top of the tree.

“Cheater” Yifan grins “Come on FanFan, or Nini and Taozi will leave us without food again”


	6. On my desk

After exploring the place for the third time that day, Jongin finally comes home. Though he can teleport to the room he shares with Kyungsoo, he decides to walk. He finds Jongdae and Han in the workshop working in their shaker (after a while, they were able to figure out a mechanism of reserving Jongdae’s lightning to use some electronic devices), and then Baekhyun and Junmyeon taking care of the plants in the greenhouse.

Jongin teleports then at the top of the staircase, opening the door. He goes to the kitchen, where he finds Chanyeol and Kyungsoo who offer him some warm tea, while he waits for Yifan. He sets the mechanical writing machine (that Chanyeol uses from time to time to write some lyrics when Junmyeon is not watching him) and some new pieces of paper to write details from the place they were exploring today, as Yifan once again draws the map.

By now, they have at least eighty different maps with their respective information. What kind of resources they can find there, is there any sort of danger? Were there traces of human living there? That sort of things.

Suddenly, some soft breeze revolves the papers on the desk.

“Sehun!” Jongin looks at Sehun’s hand.

“There’s nothing to do, hyung” Jongin shakes his head, as he picks the scattered papers.

“We need to finish this, I don't have time to-”

“Tao could stop the time for a while so you can play with us. We haven't play in months, Nini-hyung” Jongin looks through the window.

“I'm too tired for that, Hun” Sehun frowns, worried. “Hey, it's fine. I've been teleporting all day, so of course I'm tired. We can always play something after, right?”

“You always say that-”

“I'll ask Yifan-hyung if we can come earlier tomorrow, how does that sound Hunnie?” Sehun is about to protest that Junmyeon wouldn't obviously allow that, because they always have chores to do, when Jongdae and Han get in the room.

“Everyone, we fixed it!” Jongdae shows him the shaker, smiling “We’re going to prepare some chocolate milkshake!” Sehun opens his eyes widely.

“Is this a special date I'm not aware of, hyung?”

“It is! It’s the day the shaker worked again!” Sehun rolls his eyes, but Jongin and him follow Jongdae and Han to the kitchen, anyway.  _ Don't forget you promised to play with us, Nini. _


	7. Tradition

It's a tradition to have a warm cup of tea at the end of the day in the kitchen, when Jongdae has already fed all the electronic devices and Baekhyun has turned on the lights inside the shelter. Sometimes Baekhyun plays some tricks with the lights and changes them into 'nicer’ colors, like blue or pink. More often than not, Jongdae will charge Chanyeol's music player to play some music (some hip hop, some jazz, some K-Pop, some rock).

They used to complain is always the exact same routine everyday. The exact same flavor of tea without sugar, the exact same way Baekhyun turned on the lights, the exact same song every night. At the end, they come to treasure the calm the routine brings them.

It soothed them the first day they have to hunt their food. It calmed them when they started to pick things from abandoned houses.

“Channie, come with me please” Baekhyun asks him quietly when he knows he's done helping Kyungsoo in the kitchen.

“What is it, Baek?” Baekhyun doesn't say anything at all, but he leads him outside, where the Christmas tree is now, the little ice figures tingling with the soft breeze.

“Do you want to see something beautiful, Channie?” Chanyeol nods, waiting for Baekhyun to surprise him. Baekhyun starts litting the crystals, in different colors. Some blue, some pink, some white, some purple. “I've always been a fan of pastel colors”

“I know. They look so beautiful Baekie~ Why did you choose me to watch this with you? You could have done this alone” Baekhyun grabs Chanyeol's hand.

“You remind me of her” Chanyeol is silent now.  _ Her. _ “Before this, she always watched me putting some lights around everything. Your eyes are like hers”


	8. In my mug

Han closes his eyes when Yixing orders him to. His fingers are feeling numb again.  _ Damn cold, damn arthritis. _ He feels that soothing warm he feels whenever Yixing heals him.

“I wish I could do a little bit more than this, Han-gege, but I was just in training when-”

“You're doing great, XingXing. It's better than dealing with the pain, that's for sure” Yixing smiles sadly. He was studying medicine, he was one of the best in his classes. He was going to be a healer, given the gift he has. He was going to start the advanced courses, the ones that taught one to cure a long term disease.

“It's just some basic treatment, gege. I'm still trying to find a way to stop your arthritis from going further and then treat it”

“Do you have a little bit more of the plant you gave me last time?”

“For the pain?” Han nods reverently, every single bone of his body hurt like a bitch. “I may have something, let me check” Yixing knows that Han knows that he's lying. He doesn't want to make Han a morphine addict “Drink some of the tea I have in my mug, it may help you with the pain gege” Han nods, before he drinks the awful beverage.

“I need to help Myeonnie with the water deposit-”

“You need to rest first, that can wait”


	9. Cozy

It's not usual for them to have nothing to do, but it's snowing outside.

Before going to sleep, Chanyeol made sure to turn on their “chimney” so the room is warm for the others. Baekhyun told him he will follow him soon, after placing some yellow lights in all the rooms for everyone to be comfortable.

“Wake me up when you want to go to sleep”

The room is comfortably quiet.

Jongdae, Sehun and Zitao are talking about funny stories they lived when they were children, as they help Han to unravel wool threats from his needlework bag. Jongdae tries not to lose his usual enthusiasm when he talks about his elder brother, and he tries to cheer Zitao and Sehun up when they suddenly stop talking.

Han and Yixing are reading aloud one of their Chinese books for Minseok, who is listening to them with closed eyes. From time to time, he stops them to ask Han the meaning of a word. Yixing has an endless patience teaching Mandarin to the others, his soft accent makes it easier for the others to catch the words. Han busies himself in tracing the characters of the words with his fingers in Minseok's shoulder.

Kyungsoo is teaching Jongin how to prepare a soup with roots and mushrooms. Jongin doesn't talk at all, listening Kyungsoo humming soft traditional Korean nanas. His mother used to sing nanas when he was practicing his choreographies in their dancing studio. Jongin knows Kyungsoo does this absentmindedly.

“What are you thinking, Myeonnie?” Junmyeon jumps startled, when Yifan speaks. He's resting his head on Yifan's lap, while the elder strokes his hair, braiding it to keep it away from his forehead.

“When I realised I was gay, back when I was sixteen, I never thought I would be able to have a family. My own parents left me alone, my own brother didn't want to talk to me” Yifan hums, still braiding his hair “I now have ten children to take care of”

“Didn't you mean eleven?”

“No, one is more like a paternal figure, you know?” Yifan knows Junmyeon is talking about him.

“They're good kids. Even when I don't think Minseok and Han would appreciate if we think of them as kids too, surely they won't die on their own, but I think there's a reason why we work well together”

“Do you think we'll find some others like us?”

“Who knows?” Junmyeon closes his eyes.

“Hyung?” Jongin's voice makes Junmyeon open his eyes “Would you mind filling the pot with water?” Junmyeon looks at the big pot in Jongin's hand and nods, lifting his hand without moving from Yifan's lap and pouring some water from his index finger. “Thanks hyung”

“You're doing a great work keeping us alive, Myeonnie. It's really cozy here, I certainly don't complain about any single thing”


	10. My favorite

Zitao spends his rare free time re-reading some old magazines he found somewhere. He’s not that good reading Korean, no matter how good he’s speaking the language lately, he just can’t find a reason to learn something as useless as Korean (or Chinese or any other written language, really) is right now.

Jongdae watches him, looking at the magazine with the Gucci clothes for the nth time and he just feel a bit bad for the younger.

“What are you doing, baby peach?” Zitao lifts his eyes, recognising the voice, not bothering in hiding the magazine, since is Jongdae.  _ Jongdae-gege won’t be mad. _ “Are you watching those things again? You’re just hurting yourself. There’s no use in being vain right now, we can barely manage to find clothes-” Zitao nods silently and Jongdae’s face soften “I’m sorry, Taozi. I’m starting to sound like Junmyeon, uh?”

“It’s alright, gege. I get it. I just miss this world” Zitao is pointing at the model, wearing a Gucci coat “This was my world” Zitao was a model before everything went to hell. Jongdae remembers he watched some of his adds on the way to his work as an electrical engineer. “Gucci was my favorite brand to model, I always liked it-” Jongdae takes a sit in the bed of Zitao, as he watches him talk “At this time of the year, there would be this huge party because of Christmas time, I loved to dress in nice suits and-” Zitao is silentl suddenly.

“I’m sorry”

“What for, gege? I’m here, and I’m thankful for that” Jongdae cocks an eyebrow.

“I know you miss being glamorous, and I’m sorry we can’t help you with that, we don’t even have a mirror to look at ourselves-”

“It doesn’t matter here, gege. As you said, what for? It’s not as if the deers or the racoons will judge me for not looking at my best when I’m hunting them, you know?” Zitao smiles sadly, and Jongdae shakes his head.

“I’m sure Hun-ah and Han-gege may be able to do something for you, would you like that baby peach? A proper haircut?” Zitao smiles shyly. “I’m sorry we don’t have anything fancy-”

“It’s alright, gege. That’s more than enough” Zitao kisses Jongdae’s cheek, almost reverently “Thank you”

Jongdae thinks that Sehun can be the younger, but Zitao is obviously the one who needs more protection among their new brothers.


	11. Wrapped with ❤️

Kyungsoo touches the ground twice to make sure the plants in their greenhouse are doing fine. It shouldn't be a problem since Junmyeon waters them daily and Baekhyun makes sure they have enough light to survive, but still. He loves his plants.

Chanyeol is waiting for him outside, lighting his fingers to have something to entertain himself. Exactly the reason why he isn't allowed to walk into the greenhouse.

Kyungsoo moves his hands around him to give the plants some extra strength. “You never have enough strength, don't you know?” His plants are doing just great. Growing and giving fruits, to his own amazement and delight.

“Kyungsoo-yah, come on! It's getting colder here! I don't know if you would resist the cold!” this winter is as cold as the other ones Kyungsoo has lived, but it's the first one in the wild, with no electricity hence no heating. He relies his surviving in Chanyeol's ability to create fire.

“I'm almost done, hyung!” after another quick check, Kyungsoo leaves the greenhouse, and Chanyeol is immediately hugging him.

“What are you doing, hyung?” Kyungsoo's eyes are wide open at the surprise.

“Wrapping you with love, Soo-yah. Not only your plants deserve to be loved. Also, making sure you don't freeze~” Chanyeol smiles.

“Try not to burn me alive, hyung”

“I would never”


	12. Shopping

Han loved to shop in the pre-apocalyptic world. He used to earn a great amount of money since he was one of the most famous interior designers in Beijing. That tragic time, he was in Korea working with Minseok, the famous architect.

Han sighs, as he contemplates his reflection on the water. Then he closes his eyes, trying to remember those shopping days, the smell of the new clothes, the colorful bottles showing new perfumes, the fancy shops…

It happens that in this new world, one can't really go shopping.  _ What a shame. _ You can harvest the greenhouse, pick up things from the ground, hunt or make your own things. Han six cifer account doesn't have a meaning anymore.

“I wish I had paid more attention to mom when we went shopping…” Han mumbles.

“This is not exactly a supermarket, Lulu” Minseok answers him, though Han wasn't directly asking for something “I get you, though. I kind of miss going to the market to buy food-”

“I'm sorry you have to kill your own food, hyung” Minseok shakes his head, but then he smiles, somehow warmly.

“I'm sorry for you. I remember the day I met you. You came in my office wearing a pristine blue suit and a white shirt, a nice golden Rolex and neat manicured hands~” Minseok laughs and Han laughs too, as they keep picking mushrooms. “You certainly didn't look as the type who would hunt pigeons with a bow and arrow”

“Telekinesis is pretty useful sometimes, you see” as to prove his point, Han uses his power to drag some fruits from the trees. “I just never thought that would save my life, you know. It was just my way to move things around without sweating”

“I would love to go shopping with you” Minseok is still smiling.

“Maybe it was for the best you didn't” Minseok cocks an eyebrow, but Han just shakes his head, walking to finish their recollection.


	13. My playlist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is **Hurt** from Johnny Cash.

The only thing with music working now is Chanyeol's music player. A plain 32G iPod with thousands of songs, working just because Jongdae and Han (surprisingly good with engineering considering he's just a designer) figured out how to charge it using Jongdae's lightning.

Chanyeol is the DJ (literally and figuratively, since he was a DJ before), so no one touches his iPod. He decides the music everyone's going to listen, and nobody can complain because _at least you're listening some music._ _The DJ chooses the music._ Literally and figuratively.

When Yifan comes into the shelter, he listens to some sad known lyrics.  _ I hurt myself today to see if I still feel. I focus on that pain, the only thing that's real. _ He frowns.

“Are you trying to make Junmyeon commit suicide?” Chanyeol gets out from the kitchen, wiping flour from his face.

“What?! Me? No! What would you say that, hyung?”

“The song-” Chanyeol pays attention to the music and he pales, running to change the song for something happier.

“Thank God!” Kyungsoo comes from the kitchen too. “Did you tell him to change it, hyung? I really didn't like it-”

“I know Soo. I don't think it is a good idea to listen to  _ that _ kind of music given the circumstances, Chanyeol” Chanyeol lowers his gaze, he knows Yifan isn't scolding him, but he isn't exactly happy either. Junmyeon is in a fragile state of mind (more than the others), they don't want to get him worse.

“I'm sorry, hyung. It was some old playlist I didn't remember what kind of songs it had- I just played it to see if there was something I could rescue for other playlists” Junmyeon is coming and Yifan looks at Chanyeol, who changes the song quickly for something happier.

“Don't play it ever again”

“Promise”


	14. Twinkle lights

Jongdae, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are wandering around the house, talking about the stars. They wonder what kind of power will it take to control them. As far as they know, there wasn't any 'human being’ that could recreate stars with their powers.

“It could be any of us” Baekhyun says, kicking a rock “I mean. Stars are light, and fire and electricity, right?” Chanyeol doesn't say anything because he doesn't know a single thing about stars, but Jongdae frowns.

“I don't think stars are light, electricity or fire, Baek. They're more like a nuclear reaction-” Baekhyun dismisses whatever Jongdae is saying, creating soft lights with his fingers in the sky, resembling stars.

“Do you see? They look like stars, I'm sure both of you could do something alike” Chanyeol tries too, but all he makes are little fire balls looking like fireflies. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol look at Jongdae who shakes his head.

“Don't make me do this, this won't end nice-” Chanyeol and Baekhyun are still looking at Jongdae who growls. “Alright, alright. I'll try” Jongdae's power balls are more like sparkles than anything. “Ah, you see? Fire and electricity are not stars”

“Well then, he made a point already. If someone would control the stars would be Baekhyun and his twinkle lights” Chanyeol adds and Baekhyun smiles when they look at his lights.


	15. Blessings

Junmyeon feels thankful for being alive after everything that happened. He could be living a boring life as a teacher, grading papers and making lunch for himself everyday, but destiny had different plans for him.

It was chaotic, to say something. The day everything happened, he was teaching math to his  _ very young _ students, and he remembers he tried to save them, but the radiation was too much. Every single student dissolved into nothing in front of his eyes, as well as the other teachers and the authorities in the school. It is still a mystery to him why the only  _ things _ disappearing were humans.

Junmyeon wandered around for days, until he found Yifan, a college art teacher, in the nearbies. And it was the start of his little family. Soon after that, they found Zitao (shocked as hell) eating some rat he hunted and Junmyeon just knew they couldn't leave the poor kid (because he looked much more younger than them) alone.

Jongdae, Baekhyun and Chanyeol were together. Chanyeol was feeding the fire for their fireplace as Jongdae was coming back with a glowing Baekhyun, with their electrocuted dinner (another rat).

Sehun was the only one that found them and asked them to join their group. Jongin and him were the ones struggling the most because they didn't have an ability which could help them to hunt or to keep themselves warm, or protected. They were surviving eating fruits because that was the only thing they could get. When they offered him some cooked pigeons, Jongin almost devoured the entire bird by himself.

Minseok and Han were the hardest to convince to come with them. Minseok made some sort of igloo to keep themselves warm and Han could kill almost anything with his telekinesis, so they didn't see why they would need other around. To Junmyeon's surprise, the one that convinced him to join them was Zitao, and was mostly because he started to speak in Chinese with Han. Up to this date, Junmyeon doesn't know what Zitao told Han to come with them.

Kyungsoo attracted them with the smell of some warm food. To be honest with himself, Junmyeon knows no one of them is really good cooking, if it was for them, they would just roast everything and that's it. So, when they smelled something that was delicious, they came to the cave Kyungsoo was hiding in, startling him who just excused with  _ I thought I was the only one alive. _ After that, he gladly joined them (just for the sake of not being alone).

Yixing arrived around two weeks after the fatal day, when Jongdae and Minseok had already built the shelter with the help of Kyungsoo, Yifan, Jongin and Zitao (he's stronger than he looks like). That day was pouring outside, and the poor angel was soaked to the bones. Junmyeon, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol made their own task to take care of him until he was better. Of course they would invite him to stay with them.  _ No one should be alone under these circumstances, hyung. _

Junmyeon thinks again he may have not live the life he wanted to. He looks at his living room, full of life. These days everyone's a little bit happier because of the season (even when Christmas is just an abstract concept now) and he purposely avoids scolding them for trivial things (like the stocking hanging somewhere and the Christmas tree outside). They look so alive, despite everything.

“Hyung, hyung! Come sit with us! Kyungsoo cooked mushroom soup! It tastes so good!” by this time, Junmyeon doesn't mind he's more like a mother than an older brother to them. He can just smile when he sees Jongin, Sehun and Zitao getting excited for something like mushroom soup or chocolate milkshake (on the rare occasions they're able to prepare it).

His cute little boys, his blessings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> Have you listened to 'Love Shot'?  
> I love it!!


	16. Something red

Yifan is almost close to a heart attack. He yells and runs around the living room, carrying Jongdae on his arms, bleeding profusely. Jongin looks for Yixing teleporting from one room to another.

“Damn, Jongin! Where is Yixing?! Bring him here right now!” Jongin knows Jongdae is losing consciousness. He's terrified, but he knows he has to act quickly. He finds Yixing reading some book in his room. Jongin is breathless “Kim Jongin! Where the fuck is Yixing?!” Jongin has never heard Yifan so stressed.

“Sorry, hyung” Jongin grabs Yixing and teleports him to the living room. Yixing is a little bit dizzy when he arrives, but he focuses on Jongdae as soon as he notices something red.

“What happened, gege?”

“We were trying to hunt a racoon for dinner, but it escaped and Jongdae fell from a rock-”

“Nini, bring Hun-ah here. Tell him to bring the powder for the blood, he knows what it is-” Jongin teleports once again, bringing Sehun with him when Yixing is already healing Jongdae and Yifan looks paler than ever.

“Where should I put him, hyung?” Yixing points at the wound and Sehun sprinkles some powder. Jongin and Yifan watch helplessly, not able to help them.

By the time Junmyeon arrives with Minseok and Han, Jongdae is already resting in the room he shares with Sehun and Zitao, and there are no traces of blood, just a few drops that dried before they could clean them.

“Why the hell would you skin the dinner in the living room, Jongdae?!” nobody tries to contradict Junmyeon with his theory, the only one who defends Jongdae is Yixing.

“Don't yell at him, Myeonnie. He's resting because he caught a cold” Junmyeon just nods, but Yifan knows he's more worried than angry and he surely is going to check him later, even when it's not necessary because Sehun is taking care of him.

Yifan is just relieved Junmyeon didn't ask him how was his day.


	17. The weather outside is...

There's a snowstorm outside that started yesterday, right after Yifan came with Jongdae. Jongdae is still weak but he's proud to say that at least they could get some fishes for the dinner, so they aren't stuck to eat just the vegetables from the greenhouse (Minseok, Jongdae and Han could build a tunnel so they can go to the greenhouse without exposing themselves to the awful weather).

The fishes are preserved in a 'freezer’ (a wooden box Sehun and Kyungsoo built that Minseok keeps frozen everyday), so they have food for at least a week, there's no need to worry for anything.

The ones with no element-based Powers look at Minseok with resentment.  _ Why if he controls frost can't he make it stops snowing? _

Yifan feels like suffocating in their reduced space (it's not that small, anyway), he wants to be able to fly. Jongin just feels restless. He could teleport wherever he wanted where there wasn't snow, but that would be dangerous, since he doesn't know the current state of many places he can think in escaping to.

Han and Zitao just wonder why they can't change the weather to something sunnier. Not that they want to go out, they're really indoors creatures, but the cold will soon be unbearable, no matter how much Chanyeol makes an effort to keep the place warm.

“Can't you really stop the snow, gege?” Minseok stares at Yifan, frowning and shaking his head slowly.

“I'm sorry I can't do much, FanFan. There's no way someone that manipulates an element can change the weather because that's against nature's laws. One can just borrow its power, but never defy it”

“I don't get it, gege” Minseok sighs, but there are others willing to explain themselves too.

“Hyung, the weather outside is windy. I decide if I want to make a tornado or a soft breeze, I choose where the wind moves. I can control the wind, I can't stop it though” Yifan looks at Sehun, frowning.

“The weather outside is rainy. I can turn the drizzle into a pouring, or a monsoon. I can use the water for filling a lake or to create an artificial river. I feel more comfortable when it's raining, but I can't stop the rain” Junmyeon adds.

“Hyung, there's a thunderstorm right now. I can summon lightings if I want, I can guide where a lightning is going, I can use that electricity to feed my own powers. I love the thunderstorms, they make me feel at home, but I can't stop them”

Yifan looks at Sehun, Junmyeon and Jongdae, sighing. There are also Kyungsoo and Chanyeol willing to share how they can control some things, but if Mother Nature decides she wants something to happen, they won't be able to stop her.

“The weather outside is snowy, FanFan. I've always felt better surrounded by cold, because I don't feel cold at all. I can create pretty shapes with the ice and beautiful snowflakes. I can turn water into ice or snow to my liking. I can create cozy igloos to protect someone-” Minseok looks at Han, who has been listening to the whole conversation without saying anything. “I can freeze anything, even myself. But I can't stop a snowstorm, all I'm able to do, as Jongdae said, it's getting stronger thanks to it”

Yifan doesn't add anything else, he just nods. He looks at the window though, wondering when he will be able to fly again.


	18. Celebrate

Han and Yixing are taking care of Jongdae. Everyone else is doing their chores now that the snow storm has faded. Junmyeon is filling the water deposit, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun are harvesting the greenhouse, Sehun, Zitao and Chanyeol are hunting, and Jongin and Yifan are looking for herbs for the remedies Yixing prepares. Minseok is nowhere to be found.

“I don't want to rest anymore, gege. I want to do something-”

“There's nothing you can do, Dae. Either you help me knitting or you help Yixing chopping herbs” Jongdae frowns.

“I may have something else in mind, gege”

“Mmm” Han follows Jongdae with his eyes, but doesn't move from the rocking chair where he's knitting more _ugly-color_ socks.

Jongdae moves around the room, looking for something. Han lifts his eyes from his knitting from time to time. Jongdae still looks weak, but he has this determined look as he starts electrifies some metallic stuff and starting to sticking them on the metallic walls of the shelter.

“What are you doing, Jongdae? Yixing told you to rest, he will be mad at me if you don't-”

“Relax hyung, I'm not doing anything wrong. Just something to lift the spirits. Are we going to celebrate, right gege?”

“I'm really not sure about-”

“Gege!” Jongdae pouts “It's going to be Christmas soon! Please, help me convincing FanFan-ge so he speaks to Junmyeon-hyung and we can celebrate- Zitao, Sehun and Jongin are just so excited~ We can't miss this date, it's our first Christmas together!”

“Jongdae, please-”

“I’ll tell him, Jongdae-yah” Jongdae and Han look at Minseok, who is stepping in the room, covered in snow.

“Will you, hyung?” Jongdae is smiling brightly, hopeful. Han whispers something in Mandarin than sounds suspiciously like 'where were you, Minnie?’ “I can't wait to tell them!”

“Come on, Jongdae-yah. I'll help you with the decorations, is that fine?” Jongdae nods eagerly, laughing happily. “Tell me what you want me to do-” Jongdae whines something about small stars and Han looks at Minseok suspiciously.

“You spoil them too much, Minnie. Myeon won't be-”

“Myeon doesn't have to know, mmh?” Minseok pushes Han's shoulder “Come on Lulu, help us with the decorations~” Han sighs, but smiles nonetheless, saving his knitting in the bag.


	19. In the mail

There are no things as mail in this new world. Kyungsoo isn't even sure if there are any other human beings in the world, for that matter. He misses receiving postcards from his mother and father. He hasn't someone who enjoyed traveling, but his parents do liked it, so they will send Kyungsoo lovely postcards of the places they were.

Kyungsoo is looking at his postcards now. He wonders how all the places from the pictures will look like now. Paris, London, Morocco, Mexico, China… He sighs, trying not to cry.

“What are you doing, hyung?” Kyungsoo looks at Jongin, who's watching him from the doorframe.

“Nothing important, Nini. Did you need something?” Jongin shakes his head.

“Especial deliver for you” he places a package over Kyungsoo's lap, a little bit dusty, but almost intact. Kyungsoo frowns when he looks at his name on the wrapping.

“What is this?” Jongin shrugs his shoulders.

“Not sure, hyung. Me and Yifan found Seoul's post office- or what left of it” Kyungsoo frowns deeper “We inspected the packages we found there what survived the Armageddon and we found this one for you and one for Sehun-ah, so we decided to bring them to you”

Kyungsoo nods, removing uncomfortable. What could this be? He doesn't remember having been waiting for something, unless- Kyungsoo opens it to find the set of knives he ordered  _ sometime. _

“Oh! I forgot I was expecting them” Kyungsoo is smiling now. The knives they have now aren't really useful. A skillful chef like him shouldn't work without them, not even after the world ended. “Thank you” Kyungsoo forgets about the postcards, discarding them on the box under his 'bed’.

Jongin is happy his hyung is happier now.

“It's nothing” Kyungsoo hugs him, before going to the kitchen to try them with that squirrel Sehun caught.

Jongin guesses Yifan received almost the same reaction from Sehun because when he gets in the 'living room’, Sehun is hugging him. By their side rests a rare volume of a Marvel comic.


	20. Where I stand

Sehun stares at Zitao as he aims with an arrow to a turkey. He is still amazed at how the now manly ex-model that always modeled pastel pink clothes can look so fierceful and focused when they are hunting. To even think that right at the beginning Zitao would scream at every single noise coming from outside is unbelievable.

The best hunters of their family (is that a pack or a family, anyway?) are Sehun and Zitao, to everyone’s surprise. Zitao prefers bow and arrow, Sehun prefers daggers. Never in his life, neither or them imagined they would be hunting for their Christmas dinner someday.

“Ah, fuck. I missed it-” Sehun shakes his head. He squints at the bushes for their prey. His previous training as a dancing student isn’t helpful at all. And the snow makes everything harder, their fingers are numb and the visibility is almost zero.

“Come where I’m standing, you’ll have a better view here, Tao” Zitao crawls to Sehun’s position slowly, careful so he doesn’t scare the turkey away “Do you think it will last until Christmas eve?” Zitao nods absentmindedly. Sehun thinks he looks like a skilful murderer, with that dark circles under his eyes (the same ones that made him look like a lovely panda before the end of the world). Perhaps he could had been one, if he hasn’t chose the modeling path.

Zitao aims the arrow once again, and then shoots. The turkey cries, running in circles, covering the snow with red drops.

“You should have aimed for the head,  _ gege” _ Zitao rolls his eyes.

“Try shooting a turkey this distance with all this snow, Sehun” Sehun sighs.  _ Good point.  _ “Let’s just wait for it to die and then we pick it, alright? It just should take some minutes”

“Good, because it’s fucking freezing here” Sehun is thinking about those times where he complained of how cold it was to practice ballet in leggins in the middle of the winter. Nothing compared to this, absolutely.

Zitao shakes his shoulder “The turkey is dead, Hun. I think I saw a racoon close to the turkey-” Sehun takes out his dagger, trying not to think on how much they are used to this lifestyle now.

“On it”

The white dancing prince and the Gucci diva, covered in their prey’s blood. It would have made their old selves cringe.


	21. All dressed up

Yixing helps Han and Junmyeon to make warm clothes for everyone. He would love to give them something nice to wear, but warm it's better that good-looking, at least in this scenario.

He feels bad, though. Because he would have loved to see everyone all dressed up for a luxurious Christmas party, like the ones the hospital offered to raise money for their projects. He would probably fell in love with more than one of them, surely Han or Junmyeon, and maybe Jongdae, who knows?

It's useless to think of them like that now, they're his brothers. He must take care of them, he's the only one that can help them.

“Gege?” Jongdae's voice sounds a bit tired, and a bit sad.

“Are you not feeling well? What can I do for helping you, Dae?” Jongdae shakes his head.

“What were you thinking about? You looked distracted-” Yixing keeps quiet for a while and Jongdae thinks he's ignoring him.

“What kind of suit would you have wear for a Christmas gala, Dae?”

“Is this some weird psychological test, gege?” Yixing shakes his head.

“Just curious” Jongdae nods, as if he was following his gege (he isn't).

“In that case, I would have wear a black suit with a black shirt and a silver tie~” Jongdae smiles shyly and Yixing smiles, closing his eyes to imagine it.

“It suits you” then he leaves his room to go for some tea. Jongdae still isn't following him.


	22. Believe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on that comment Baekhyun said about Sehun crying because he prayed for them every night and they were being 'unfair' to him.

Junmyeon feels awful when he goes to sleep that night.

_ Lord, I pray for those who have been devastated by this tragedy. _

Junmyeon was never a fervent believer of anything, he always considered himself an atheist. One should consider that his family always told him he was going to hell because he was gay. He wasn't keen of the idea of a god punishing him for something he was born with, something he couldn't change.

_ I pray for those who have lost their lives so suddenly. I hold in my heart all those survivors forever changed by grief and loss. _

Yifan is snoring already in their shared bed (one can't be really picky when it comes to their place to sleep in this new world, when they barely managed to find just a few functional beds), tired already because he was helping to move all the trunks for their stove inside the shelter. God bless his soul, he's really like a father.

_ Bring them consolation and comfort. Surround them with this prayer for strength. _

Junmyeon covers himself with the blankets, still hearing Sehun praying, with a soft voice, convinced that there's someone out there listening to that prayer.

_ Bless those who have survived and heal their memories of trauma and devastation. May they have the courage to face the days ahead. _

What makes Junmyeon's heart ache is that Sehun isn't even questioning why everything happened, he's just asking for everyone alive to be fine, to be strong. At this point, after almost a year, Junmyeon still wonders if they will find some other human beings.

Sehun prays every night, no matter how tired he is. Junmyeon and everyone know this, even when Sehun hasn't really told them what he believes in. Nobody really cared to ask.  _ Why? _ Any sort of religion is useless now. They all believe in different things, anyway.

Junmyeon hasn't paid attention to the prayer, except now he couldn't help it.

_ Help me to respond with generosity in prayer, in assistance, and in comfort to the best of my abilities. Keep my heart focused on their needs.  _

That night, Junmyeon cries until he falls asleep. Yifan hugs him in his sleep while Sehun's whispered prayer engraves in his head.

_ I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. _


	23. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired in the song **Why did you have to go?** from Aurora.

On the days before Christmas, when Jongin was resting from his dancing classes (the ones he was taking with Sehun), he and his older sisters used to have a marathon of Christmas movies in pajamas, eating chips and chocolates. Their countdown for Christmas day wasn't in days, it was in movies.

He dreams with them. In his dream, his sisters are in their parents’ house living room, eating caramel popcorn as they watch 'The Grinch’. Jongin isn't sitting with them, just looking at them from the kitchen.

He cries in his sleep.

“Sisters, why can't I join you?” his sisters smile, shaking their head, as if he was asking them to come to the prom with them as their partner.

“Oh Nini, you shouldn't be here with us yet~”

“I miss you, sisters” they keep smiling, sadly.

“We know, but it's almost Christmas and now you have a family to stay with”

“I couldn't even say goodbye-” his voice is broken.

“You don't need to, we're with you. We'll always be” Jongin really wants to hug his sisters, to feel their warm and smell their bb cream on their skin. “You should wake up now, sweetie. Your family is worried for you”

Jongin wakes up. When he opens his eyes, Zitao and Chanyeol are wiping his tears with their sleeves.

“Nini, are you alright?” Jongin still have the voice of his sisters lingering in his ears. His sisters are fine, and they say he still have a reason to live. Moreover, he's not alone, they're protecting him.

“I'm fine, Tao-hyung. I dreamt with my sisters” Zitao does believe in the afterlife and reincarnation, so he nods waiting for the end of the story “They're fine, they aren't suffering. They are watching over us” Zitao nods again.

“It's relieving to know that, Nini-yah”


	24. The magic

One would believe that with all the places they've been exploring, they must have found any other survivors already, but they aren't. It may be because Yifan and Jongin are only centering in recognising the place and make a quick list of what sort of resources they're going to find there.

Chanyeol is wandering around in the nearbies of their home, looking for more dry wood for their stove when he realises he's listening to music.

“Hello?! Is anyone there?!” there's no answer but the music keeps playing. Chanyeol has a good ear, so he follows the sound, trying to identify the source, bringing with him a pile of sticks (times like this is when he wishes he has a power like Han's or Yifan's).

“It's fucking late already, Chanyeol!” it's the first thing Junmyeon yells at Chanyeol when he comes back to the shelter almost when it's completely dark. “Are you fucking out of your mind?! You could have die outside, what if a bear attacked you?!” Chanyeol lowers his head, as an apology.

“I'm sorry”

“What were you fucking doing out there that took you so long?! All I asked you to do was picking sticks!” Junmyeon is angry, and though Kyungsoo and Yifan are in the room tooz they're not trying to help him.

“I found someone-” Junmyeon opens and closes his mouth, speechless. Now Kyungsoo and Yifan are looking at him with interest “In the cave, near the river. They have a shelter there, one of them was playing a guitar and that's what gave them away-”

“That's impossible, Chanyeol-ah. We checked that place, nobody was there-”

“They arrived not too long ago, gege”

“Are they-”

“Like us?” Kyungsoo nods and Chanyeol hums “All of them have superpowers too. We came to the conclusion that it's the magic in us what kept us alive that day”

“What are their powers, hyung?” Kyungsoo seems interested, maybe pondering to have them in their shelter too if they're helpful.

“One has super strength, other one controls the fire like me, the other one can read minds. I only met three of them, but I think they're seven. For what they told me, one of them controls metal, and they have a healer too. I don't know what the other two do”

“Oh my God! You actually found someone!” Jongdae can't stop laughing and smiling “Everyone, come on! Chanyeol met our neighbors!”

After turning on the fire for the stove, Chanyeol finds himself surrounded by everyone, waiting for him to tell the good news while Kyungsoo is cooking the dinner (some green soup).

“Well, I was picking sticks in the forest-”

“Speak louder, hyung! I can't hear you!” Kyungsoo wants to know too.


	25. PJ's

Minseok watches everyone having breakfast in pajamas (some too big ugly clothes they found somewhere, that Junmyeon had to wash four times before they could use them). He's the only one wearing a light sweater because he doesn't feel cold at all. Everyone else is wrapped in blankets and furs.

“I'm not complaining absolutely guys, but I wouldn't mind if we moved our table a little bit more closer to the fireplace. It's fucking freezing” Han can't move at all because of his arthritis, he's always knitting in front of some warm place.

“I can do that, where do you want me to put it gege?” Kyungsoo is always trying to make everyone feel comfortable.

“Are you going to move the table with all that warm dishes over it? No, thanks. My pajamas are ugly enough as they're are, I don't want them stained with green soup. Move over, I'll do it myself” everyone moves from the table, so Han can levitate it closer to the fireplace. “Better now~”

Minseok thinks how Han can look like a child and at the same time, he looks older than everyone else, always shivering because of his aching joints.

“Han, I can give you my pajamas. I don't use mine because they're too warm for me, you need them more than me” Han looks at Minseok, frowning.  _ Is he willingly offering him his warm clothes? With this cold? _ But then he remembers. Minseok controls frost, he doesn't feel cold, he loves that weather.

“That would be nice, Minnie. Thank you~” Minseok leaves the room to get a blanket of his own for Han. When he comes back, he throws it over Han's shoulder.

“Merry Christmas, Lulu~”

“It's not Christmas yet, Minnie” Han rolls his eyes.

“Whatever, it's not like you have to wait for a present. I have nothing to give you, anyway” Minseok forgets everyone's listening at them, even when they're whispering. Han realises everyone looks sad now, because what kind of Christmas doesn't have presents? Well, this one, evidently.

“It's fine, Minnie. This is perfect” Han smiles.


	26. The tree

Baekhyun makes sure to have the lights on the Christmas tree they have outside on, so their neighbors can find their shelter (Chanyeol promised them it was fine to share their dinner with them). So instead of the pretty pink lights, he turns on in a bright shade of red, along with northern lights over their house.

“Are we watching your northern lights for breakfast this time, hyung? Is this our Christmas present?” Baekhyun turns around to look at Sehun standing at the door frame, watching him from the the top of the staircase.

“I didn't think of a present, Sehunnie. But if you want this to be, then sure, why not?”

“This is really sad,. Don't you think, hyung?” Sehun is coming closer to Baekhyun, and even when Baekhyun can think of many sad things in his life right now, he doesn't know what the younger is talking about.

“What do you mean exactly, Sehunnie?”

“All this tragedy. That we don't have a proper way to celebrate our birthdays now, even less celebrate Christmas. I never imagined having to hunt the dinner, I never imagined having to kill a turkey because of a need and not because of a tradition-”

“My brother used to tell me that Christmas was a time to renovate your faith, Sehunnie. This may not be the perfect Christmas, we wouldn't have electricity if it wasn't for Dae, we wouldn't have a warm place if it wasn't for Channie. But we have to be thankful for being alive”

“I'm thankful, but-”

“We still don't know what the future will bring, Sehunnie. But let's be positive about this, there must be a reason to be alive, don't you think?” Sehun nods, before he leans his chin on Baekhyun's shoulder.

“You never ask me to watch how you turn on the lights, hyung”

“Do you want to?”

“I would love to” Baekhyun nods and he starts humming a song Sehun recognises as a Christmas song. “Merry Christmas, hyung”

“Merry Christmas, Sehunnie” before Baekhyun continues, he presses a soft kiss on Sehun's cheek. The taller doesn't complain at all about his hyung being ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to y'all!  
> My best wishes for you~  
> Hope you have enjoyed with your family and eaten a lot of delicious food!  
> ❤️


	27. Before/After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write how was their day after Christmas before the incident and after. I hope it's not confusing.

_ Sehun woke up to the smell of his mom heating the leftovers from Christmas dinner. When he went down, his brother and his father were already on the table. “You look so skinny, Sehun-ah. Come eat with us before you leave to the academy” Sehun didn't mention them he was on strict regimen because the new recital he was going to make. _

Sehun wakes up to the sound of Junmyeon filling the water deposit and he removes. Christmas dinner was nice but ended soon, around ten in the night, according to Zitao. He sighs before getting ready to start his day, he has to go with Chanyeol to collect more sticks for the fire.

_ Jongin spent the morning watching movies with his sisters. Usually his parents were somewhere in the world, dealing with his clients. “You don't have to go to the academy today, right Nini?” Jongin had to leave, indeed, but he could take this day off, not minding that his teacher is going to scold him for that, he was the lead role, after all. _

Jongin would love to sleep more, but Yifan is in his bedroom now urging him to dress already, because they're going to visit their neighbors. Jongin doesn't understand that much of what his hyung is saying, but somewhere in between his rambling, he listens that Kyungsoo is coming with them, in exchange for something of the neighbors.

_ Zitao spent Christmas away from his family that year, because there was this special Christmas event in New York and as the important model he was, his attendance was mandatory. Earlier that night, he made a Skype call with his parents, before he went to the location of the runaway. _

Zitao is already in the kitchen when Yifan enters to the room Jongin shares with Kyungsoo. Today Kyungsoo asked him and Jongdae to make sure everyone has breakfast. Jongdae hasn't arrived yet, so Zitao is listening to Kyungsoo's instructions of what they're going to eat. “Stop yawning, Tao-yah, Junmyeon will wake up soon, you have to boil the water for the tea, alright?”

_ Kyungsoo was getting ready to go to the restaurant, not everyone had holidays during those times. Unfortunately, he worked in a very important hotel, and as the main chef, he had the responsibility of being there, not minding that his family was visiting him for the season. _

Kyungsoo wakes up earlier than Jongin to get his stuff ready, so when Yifan comes he's just checking the last details. He just have to leave instructions for Zitao and Jongdae for breakfast (God only knows when they're coming back, but he hopes it doesn't take them that long). Kyungsoo checks his backpack once again. In exchange for some metallic tools, they're giving the neighbors some seeds, and Kyungsoo offered himself to make them grow despite the weather.

_ Chanyeol woke up later than usual because of the party he hosted, where he was the DJ. This year, even his sister and his husband were in the party, reason enough for him to enjoy the party without a drop of alcohol. When Chanyeol woke up, his sister was cooking something for him, and Chanyeol didn't remember having groceries for that. _

Sehun tries to wake up Chanyeol, but he finds the empty space of Baekhyun in their bed, and he decides to cuddle with his warm hyung for a while. Chanyeol hugs Sehun in his sleep, still recognising he's not Baekhyun. “You’re cold, Sehun-ah” Sehun apologises but Chanyeol dismisses it. After a while, Junmyeon comes to the room and urges them to go for the wood, because Zitao and Jongdae are waiting for them to cook.

_ Jongdae spent his week off with his family, especially his brother. He helped him to fix his toaster before they played with his brother's Xbox one. Jongdoek just asked him to be careful with the controls, the last time he lost, he short-circuited them. _

Jongdae likes to cook with Zitao, even when he's usually sneaking for food, because he's a nice talker, always telling him stories about all the places he visited. Jongdae didn't listen to Kyungsoo, but he knows what he has to cook today for breakfast. And he knows that before Kyungsoo, Jongin and Yifan leave, he has to go to the greenhouse for fruits to give them as breakfast.

_ Baekhyun was with his girlfriend, getting ready to visit Baekbeom. His girlfriend was urging him to turn on the lights on the tree, in pretty pink and white shades, her favorites. “Come on baby, we're going to be late. And we're not going to be here to enjoy the lights~” at the end, his girlfriend convinced him to do it, before they left. _

Baekhyun wakes up earlier than Chanyeol, because he knows that as soon as Junmyeon fills the water deposit, they will visit the greenhouse for check the plants, water them, give them some sun. Han must be harvesting it now, he usually wakes up earlier than Junmyeon.

_ Yixing was on guard the last Christmas, in E.R. He had to excuse himself with his parents for not being able to spend the night with them, but they were so understanding, they just told him to take care of himself. Yixing just had an awful cup of coffee from the machine and the calling to attend someone with a broken leg. _

Before his day starts, Yixing makes sure to check Han's health, to relieve the pain from his joints and give him some tea to endure the cold. After that, Han leaves to harvest the greenhouse. Yixing comes with him to check how his medicinal plants are doing. Han sings soothing melodies in a soft Chinese that remembers Yixing of home. Sometimes, Yixing recognises the melody and sings along with Han.

_ “You have a message in your voicemail” Junmyeon woke up to a text in his phone, telling him his parents called again. Junmyeon sighed before heading to the kitchen to prepare some coffee and get ready to leave to the post office to send his brother a postcard. Junmyeon ignored the text, because he knew what the message said. “We found this girl for you, you should come”. Junmyeon didn't want his parents to forgive him, he wanted them to understand. _

When Yifan leaves their bed, Junmyeon knows it's time to get up too. So many chores to do, and so little time. He's glad all his kids are willing to help and have developed the skills to do it (like hunting or knitting). Still, there are some specific task just one can do, for example turning on the stove or filling the water deposit. He hears Baekhyun removing in his room, getting ready to help him with the greenhouse next, so he wraps himself in his warmest clothes to start with his own task.

_ Yifan called his mother that morning, asking her how was everything going in China. His mother answered him patiently that everything was going just fine, as cold as always. She asked what he had for dinner, and in exchange Yifan asked him if she was planning to visit him soon. _

The sun hasn't come up yet when Yifan is getting ready for his day. He almost feel sorry for leaving Junmyeon alone in the bed, he was so warm and comfortable, but some negotiations are in order. As Chanyeol told them, they have neighbors and some of them have some powers that may be useful to them. In exchange, they're giving things that could be useful for their neighbors. New world, new rules. Though he has to make sure the youngers are up to come with him first.

_ Han spent his morning asleep. Not too long ago, he was diagnosed with arthritis and the pain in the winter was the worst. So he would do whatever exposed him the less to the cold, even if that meant ordering take out and eating in bed. _

Han knows he has to go to the greenhouse, but he doesn't have the will to get up yet. He knows it's time to get up when Yixing visits their room and starts to ask him how is he feeling today. Han tries to dismiss his pain, but the cold is making it worse. Han waits patiently as Yixing works on his poor joints. When he's done, Han gets up and starts to dress himself for his task. Yixing comes with him, arguing he will check his plants, but Han is suspicious that he wants to check on him.

_ Minseok wasn't home that Christmas either. He was caught up in some negotiations for a project in Shanghai, but a snowstorm delayed his flight. As he was waiting in the airport for the taxi to take him to the hotel once again, he was creating beautiful snowflakes for a little girl, who was crying because she wanted to see the presents Santa brought her. _

Minseok has insomnia, which is useful at this time, because he busies himself in removing all the snow outside the shelter, so when everyone is ready to do their tasks, they won't freeze their feet. He just finished and the sun is coming up now. When he gets in the house, he crosses paths with Yifan who gives him a soft smile. Minseok smiles too, getting ready to sleep for a while. He waits though, because he knows he's cold and he would cause Han pain. He can wait until Han leaves the bed. He's a good hyung, after all.


	28. The story

That day in February was supposed to be as any other day, nothing especial. The morning did nothing to reveal what was going to happen later, it was a quiet morning, the birds were chirping and the the wind was moving through the leaves.

None of them can't really remember how everything exactly started. Junmyeon says he saw a bright light before everyone in front of him started to vanish. Zitao and Jongin swear they heard a loud beep that hurt their ears before everything gone black. Chanyeol couldn't stop shivering and Minseok was sweating. It just happened. One moment everything was fine, and the other moment, a strange energy was dissolving every single human being.

Where the energy came from? How did it start? How long was the energy lingering in the air? It is hard to tell.

After the blue glowing light and their unconsciousness (caused by the unknown force and their shock), there wasn't any trace of human beings, just the proves that at some point they were there because of the buildings and the stuff scattered all over the ground, some useless things like earphones, papers...

Days passed by without any explanation, all were disoriented, the world looked so different like that.

The world wasn't the same and it took them a while to figure it out what was the reason they were the ones who survived. Their skills were apparently all that was needed to be successful in that new world.

Some were luckier than others, though. Kyungsoo didn't need to look for food, since he could grow it himself. Han could use his telekinesis to grab whatever he wanted to. Yifan could flight to hunt or to grab food. Minseok could build an igloo to cover himself and Han from the cooler weather (because the energy apparently took all the warmth away from the Earth). Chanyeol provided warmth to Baekhyun and Jongdae. Jongin could teleport himself and Sehun to different places. Junmyeon didn't need to find a source of water.

It has been almost a year now, and they still don't understand what happened or what is their purpose now. They do know they're together, and they're still looking for some others like them, maybe to rebuild a city and repopulate it, but so far they hadn't been that lucky, since all what they have found are other seven men, with more or less the same powers. No girls in sight.

What are they going to do? They really prefer not to think of it.


	29. My view

Yifan wants to distract Junmyeon from his occupations for a day, so he takes him silently when the sun is barely rising for a little trip. Junyeon, of course, is not aware of the fact that they will skip their chores for a while (Minseok and Chanyeol offered him to do Junmyeon’s task of filling the water deposit).

When Junmyeon wakes up, he’s already flying with Yifan to an unknown location. Of course, he yells at him.

“Put me down right in this moment, Wu Yifan!” Yifan flies a bit lower, but he doesn’t stop, still carrying Junmyeon on his back. “We have things to do at home!”

“We don’t, Myeonnie. I arranged everything so we can be away from the house for a while. I know you loved going mountain-hiking because that way you could enjoy the view from the top”

“I don’t see the point, Yifan! Put me down!” Yifan stops at the top of a high rock in one of the mountains, making sure Junmyeon won’t scape.

“That view you loved to see, it’s my view always. I don’t think of it as something special, but I guess that’s because I’m used to fly” Junmyeon stops yelling to stare at Yifan’s eyes, and then he looks at his surroundings. The view is outstanding, the Han river slowly claiming what was his since the beginning of times, everything covered in white, shining from the sun in the small crystals. “Merry belated Christmas, Myeonnie”


	30. Movie time

Chanyeol looks at Minseok with curiosity, placing a big cube of ice, that magnifies and distorts the objects beneath it. Then he frowns when Baekhyun, Jongdae and Zitao are making some stuff behind the ice.

“What are you doing, hyung?” Chanyeol can't help but wonder what's all this about. After Jongdae and Baekhyun finish whatever they're doing with Zitao, they leave to finish their chores before Junmyeon complains about their  _ lazy asses. _

“It's a surprise, Chanyeol-ah” Chanyeol hates mystery and he frowns when Kyungsoo and Junmyeon come into the scene to talk with Zitao.

“But what is all of this about?” Chanyeol is frowning now. Kyungsoo shakes his head without diverting his attention from whatever he's explaining to Zitao, and Junmyeon barely looks at him, frowning. Zitao tells him something, so Junmyeon just ignores Chanyeol again.

“Be patient, Chanyeol-ah, you'll see”

“Stop being useless and come to the kitchen already, hyung” Kyungsoo grabs Chanyeol's wrist to drag him to the kitchen with him, he has to turn on the stove. Chanyeol whines when he sees Han coming to talk with Zitao too.

He forgets about everything when Kyungsoo makes him help him with the dinner, chopping and watching the fire and that all.

When it's time to have dinner, they move the table close the ice block and Chanyeol wonders once again what is happening, but no one makes any sort of comment, and the dinner is served as per usual.

When everyone is already eating, Zitao moves his hand and something starts to happen behind the ice block.

“What's that?” Chanyeol is smiling when he sees something moving, almost like the start of a movie. “How were you able to do that?!” Zitao smiles too, eating his dinner (a piece of a racoon) quietly. Everyone else is looking at the raining scene developing in front of them.

“I just thought I could try to recreate some real-time landscape with the help of the others, hyung. I was able to do that when I was a model, and I thought 'why not?’, it's almost like a movie, isn't it?”

“It's so cool~ You're awesome Taozi!” Zitao smiles widely, before he bites his dinner again.

“Thanks, hyung. Maybe with the time we can do something a little bit more elaborated-” Chanyeol shakes his head, but doesn't say anything else.  _ This is already perfect. _ “It's like my present for y'all” Han laughs when Zitao asks Jongdae if he said it alright.


	31. The gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for posting this so late (and it's so short too), but I just finished my work (I have to leave later to my office, which is really sad because is Sunday). I hope you like it, anyway.

Jongdae thinks about how the last year, he was spending these holidays to finish a project for the company he worked in. He didn’t even went to celebrate with his parents because there were so many things he had to have ready for the new years, but he didn’t mind, because ‘there will always be another year’, which don’t exist anymore, at least not for Jongdae’s family, or anyone’s family at all, just for them.

“Hyung, if Junmyeon-hyung finds you crying, he will get worried” Jongdae reacts when Sehun speaks and he wipes away his tears, quietly.

“I didn’t realise I was crying” Sehun nods, before he hugs his hyung. “You’re cold, Hun-ah”

“I was outside, helping everyone. I came in looking for you-” Jongdae nods, but he doesn’t move. Sehun removes uncomfortable, everyone is waiting for them outside “Hyung? Are you listening?”

“Sometimes, I think our gifts are more like curses...” Sehun looks scandalized. “If I wasn’t able to control lightning, I surely wouldn’t be here right now. Sometimes I just want to finish all this and find my family again. I wasn’t even able to tell them goodbye...” Jongdae is crying, but Sehun doesn’t let go, he understands his hyung.

“Our best gift for our families is to value the life we’re living now, hyung. Whatever they did brought us here, they encouraged us to cultivate our powers, to perfection them and we’re honoring them taking care of others with our powers, as they did with us” Jongdae nods, Sehun may be right.


	32. We are family

Junmyeon places the dinner on the table, with the help of Yifan and Jongin (teleporting with everything is absolutely easier than walking or flying). Kyungsoo is still harvesting the greenhouse for the last ingredient for the salad (strawberries, who would have said it?) with the help of Baekhyun because it's dark outside already.

Jongdae electrifies the shaker to prepare milkshake (where they got milk, you wonder? Kyungsoo used his powers to grow some seeds like almonds from where they can get milk) and Zitao and Minseok are helping. Minseok provides ice and Zitao makes the shaker to go faster.

Yixing is in the living room, making Han's wrist ready to cut their dinner into pieces. Han looks bored at everyone, resigned to his faith.

Chanyeol places small flames around the house to keep everyone warm. The music sounds through a speaker Jongdae found and could repair and gave it to Chanyeol as a Christmas gift.

Sehun helps everyone here and there. If Yixing asks him for something, he brings it. If Kyungsoo asks him to bring things into the house, he does it. He tastes the flavor of the milkshake when Jongdae asks him to, too.

Han, bored as he is, thinks of their current situation. It's not the best they have been in, all of them are so out of their element and even despite that, they're surviving together, living a nice (but quite rustic) life. Han doesn't complain that much (just when the pain in his bones is killing him, but Yixing is always there to help him), they're not that bad.

They may had difficulties. Sometimes they're tired of eating just leaves, or certain type of meat. They fight over their chores. _I don't want to do this. Why should I?_ They fight over the beds. _You're stealing all the blankets! If you don't clean yourself before getting in, you're sleeping outside._ Sometimes they don't agree at all. Sometimes they're tired and they don't speak to each other _for days._

But it happens to the best families, right? _We are a family, after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear lord.  
> This is the end, I almost didn't make it, I ran out of ideas to write :(  
> Me and my wonderful ideas to write challenges...  
> Anyway.  
> This little was inspired by my bf who says people always love a little bit of drama, and I wanted to fill this challenge with two different plots, even when it was the same list of prompts.  
>  _Have you read the other work?_ Two different worlds, really.
> 
> Thank you for discovering this world with me. I hope you enjoyed the ride (?)  
> Happy new year to all of you! My best wishes for everyone~  
> Enjoy with your family, eat and drink delicious stuff and always be happy.  
> Until the next story ;)  
> ❤️


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